By Elizabeth Ameh
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said it will continue to work with the government , donors and others partners to raise the bar of education for girls and boys affected by Conflict in the NorthEast,Nigeria.
The UNICEF Chief of Maiduguri Field Office, Phuong T. Nguyen, stated this on Wednesday at the event to commemorate the 2024 International Day of Education (IDE) held at the El Kanemi Hall of the University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Borno State.
She lamented that currently, morethan half of the displaced children in the NorthEast are out of school, while morethan 40 percent of schools in Borno,Adamawa and Yobe Ststes have Teachers with minimal teaching qualifications.
According to the UNICEF Cheif, in order to address the education and learning crisis in the NorthEast, government and stakeholders must increase Education financing, employ more teachers, provide trainings as well as priorotise school infrastructure and security.
Nguyen states “In northeast Nigeria and indeed communities affected by conflict across the world, education is a platform for the delivery of inclusive learning and psychosocial support. For children in armed conflict situations, education is a unique lifeline. It is a driver of peace and security.
“In collaboration with the Government humanitarian partners and donors such as Education Cannot Wait (ECW). We have made huge strides in the provision of quality, inclusive education for children affected by conflict
Accorsing to her “More girls and children living with disabilities are enrolling in school through regular enrolment campaigns and the provision of conducive learning environment with sanitation facilities across the northeast region.
“We are leveraging evidence from other contexts and collaborating with others to expand the frontiers of quality and inclusive education to children from minority ethnic groups.
” Learning materials in the Kanuri and Hausa languages have been produced so that children can learn in their mother tongue and at their own pace, before transiting to learning in the English Languagen”Nguyen added.
UNICEF with funding from Education Cannot Wait organised paper presentation, panel discussion , school quiz competition among three selected schools from the state, poem presentation by students, prizes among others to commemorate the International Education Day.
